Kinue Nomura survived World War II only to be murdered in Tokyo, her severed limbs discovered in a room locked from the inside. Gone is the part of her that bore one of the most beautiful full-body tattoos ever rendered. Kenzo Matsushita, a young doctor who was first to discover the crime scene, feels compelled to assist his detective brother, who is in charge of the case. But Kenzo has a secret: he was Kinue’s lover, and soon his involvement in the investigation becomes as twisted and complex as the writhing snakes that once adorned Kinue’s torso.

The Tattoo Murder Case was originally published in 1948; this is the first English translation.

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Product description

Synopsis

The Chilling Search for a Missing Torso Leads to a Dark Erotic Secret; A gripping murder mystery in the style of S S Van Dine and John Dickson Carr; Kinue Nimora survived World War II only to be murdered in Tokyo, her severed limbs being all that is left behind when she is discovered in a locked bathroom. Gone is her torso which bore one of the most beautiful full-body tattoos ever created by her late father, a highly controversial artist. Kenzo Matsushita, a young doctor, must assist his detective brother who is in charge of the case, because he was Kinue's secret lover and the first person on the murder scene.

About the Author

Akimitsu Takagi (1920–1995) studied engineering at Kyoto University and later worked for the Nakajima Aircraft Company. Over the course of his writing career, he published fifteen popular mysteries, including Honeymoon to Nowhere, The Informer, and The Tattoo Murder Case, and he won the Japan Mystery Writers Club Award.

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Even though the debut was a bit laborious and I was trying to guess where the story was going, I really enjoyed this book. The real joy starts when the 1st murder is committed and Tokyo police starts to investigate. The plot deepens as well as the mystery surrounding the murder. You also get a good insight about the Tattoo world in Japan and it's culture in post world war II. Overall enjoyed the book , especially the end,as I was not expecting such a surprising end !!

A friend of mine handed me a Christmas present one year, with the tag reading something like "knowing what you're interested in, you'll probably like this." It is the kind of present only a close friend could have chosen, combining as it does my vague but long standing ambition to get a tattoo, my love for Japan following a trip there several years ago and my almost constant reading.

Akimitsu Takagi's "The Tattoo Murder Case" was originally published and set in a Japan recovering from the Second World War. In this time of suffering for the Japanese people in general, Kinue Nomura seems to have suffered more than most. Her brother was in the Army had never returned from service at the end of the war and her sister was in Hiroshima at the time the bomb dropped and hadn't been heard from since.

Shortly afterwards, Kinue Nomura is found murdered in her bathroom, locked from the inside, with the murderer having apparently killed her to steal her tattoo - a wonderful piece of body art that covers most of her torso. This has been stolen, still attached to her torso, leading to a difficult case for the police inspector Matsushita and his brother Kenzo, who had recently become acquainted with the victim. This is a locked room mystery with many suspects and, before too long, there are more victims.

As murder mystery stories go, this is a fine example of the art. It twists and turns like the snake on Kinue Nomura's tattoo. It seems as if everyone has a secret they want to keep the police from finding out, including the inspector's brother. He has to sort the lies from the half truths and the truth from the attempts to deceive him. As he has trouble keeping up, so does the reader, which is the ideal situation in a well written murder mystery.

Aside from the twists and turns of the plot, the thing that stuck out most for me was the writing style. Maybe it's due to the age of the book or the nationality of the author, knowing that the Japanese tend to be more formal than the English and the fact that this is a translation, but the language didn't always seem to flow in quite the way I'm used to. The characters all used a more formal tone with each other than is common with both names, rather than just the forename, often used in conversation.

That said, once you've gotten around the slight language and style changes from Western literature, this is a very good read. The story heads along at some pace, even allowing for all the switching from suspect to suspect and from one thread of the investigation to another. The story drags you all over the place and, much like Inspector Matsushita, there were points where I wasn't entirely sure what was going on. But this is the essence of a decent mystery. If you can be one step ahead of the characters, the author hasn't done their job terribly well and that was never the case for me here.

The Japanese culture the book was set in was another high point of the story from a personal point of view. Although I didn't spend long in Tokyo, it was still wonderful to see mentions of parts of the city I had visited when I was there and to be reminded of the culture. This may not be a part of things that appeals to people without my interest in the country, however.

This was certainly a well chosen gift from my point of view. It brought back memories of Japan and helped me to rekindle my love of that country. It also had the interest in the point of view of the tattoos. Of course, neither of these things would have mattered if it had been a poor story, but that was no problem, either. Indeed, I have since gone on to read another of Akimitsu Takagi's works in translation and will certainly be buying the other which is available.

If you're a fan of murder mystery stories, this is certainly a book worth looking out for. Although the language can take a little getting used to with all its formality, once you have settled into the rhythm of it, you're left with a pretty impressive mystery. I don't recall a book with quite as many switched and false trails since Jeffrey Deaver's "The Vanished Man" and I certainly don't recall one in which the central character was a tattoo.

If I had one complaint, it would be that the ending came a little too suddenly. Whilst everything tied up and the ending didn't spoil what went on before, the inclusion of a previously unheard from character to solve the mystery did jar a little. It wasn't a particularly bad or unbelievable ending, but it did feel a little clumsy.

This is really a book for a murder mystery fan looking to branch out a little from the mundane. Whilst the story itself may not be anything especially new, the culture and language within is something a little unusual. It's maybe not worth the amount you would have to pay for it on this basis, but it's worth picking up cheaply if you can find it.

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To anyone who is interested in tattoos or in postwar Japan this book is a must. Having a traditional Japanese tattoo myself I was most impressed with the treatment of the art in relation to the trials of living with the artwork,and those who seek to posses it. The way the story does not rely on the tattoos to be the entire focus of the book is refreshing. The moral and ethical questions raised by the pursuit of these tattoos is hardly touched on,but this is a murder mystery not a book about ethics. As far as the mystery goes it is very well thought out and intelligent. You get to know the characters without too much guesswork and they do not have as rough a diologue as you would first assume.(this is in reference to the strict translation that is offered)

The story remains fresh, even today, 50 years later. Nothing in it lags. While the crime described is a horrorific one, the way the author has written about it doesn't disturb. I enjoyed this classic "puzzle" mystery--both a who-dune-it and how. The story is set in postwar Tokoyo and it's very atmospheric.

The murder is gruesome, the idea of preserving the tattooed skins of people who have died, for their art value, is creepy, but still it is a very readable mystery. The translation is stilted, and there are a couple of anachronisms, but that doesn't matter once you get into the story.

I enjoyed reading this book, even if it did get bit labourious in places. I found it had shades of a Japanese Sherlock Holmes quality to it. I will read other books by this author if they are available.